Is Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino irreplaceable?

Yes and no. Somewhere in between and neither.

Mauricio Pochettino is one of the best managers in the world.  Despite his mistake in playing Harry Kane from the off against Liverpool, he has, for many years now, proven just how excellent of a manager he is.  Due to his record of success he has gained more and more admirers on the continent in recent years. Juventus have shown interest in the Argentinian, and so too have Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.

For the time being Spurs seem to have kept Pochettino happy. The manager himself has suggested he feels his work at Tottenham isn’t done yet. A smart club, though, always has contingency plans in place, so Spurs need to be ready for any eventuality.

Pochettino has a rare talent to get the most out of his players, one of his best attributes.  He makes players better in a way that few managers do. Some managers are in-game chess masters but lack inspiration on the training ground. Pochettino usually excels in both areas in a way that very few managers in Europe do.  It puts him at the level of Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, Diego Simeone and Antonio Conte.

Pochettino is paid £8.5 million, equating to 9.5 million Euros, comparatively underpaid in terms of his peers. According to Marca, Pochettino’s peers are paid as follows: Simeone, 41.2 million Euros; Mourinho, (formerly) 31 million Euros and Guardiola, 24.1 million Euros.

So the truth is pretty simple.  Though it is theoretically possible for Spurs to get a managers as good as Pochettino, they won’t be able to do it for the same price.  A big complaint among players at Tottenham Hotspur is that the club simply does not pay market wages, something that is also happening at the managerial level.

That is why it is so important that Spurs, and in particular Daniel Levy, do everything they can to satisfy the manager during the summer.

Tottenham would, in terms of talent, be able to replace Pochettino, but they wouldn’t be able to replace his brilliant mentality. Additionally, it would cost Spurs a fortune to try and pluck a manager of his pedigree from the open market, something the club simply cannot afford.